Konami reports small jump in earnings during Q1

Konami has reported a small increase in revenue during the first three months of its fiscal year, dwelling on the increasing success of its Japan-exclusive social games.

The company as a whole reported net revenue of ¥54,915 million, up 3.3 percent year on year.

The Digital Entertainment section, the company’s largest division ahead of Health and Fitness, saw growth of 4.3 percent over the same period in 2010, reporting net revenue of ¥26,102 million.

The company’s forecasts remain steady, projecting static revenue up to the end of March 2012.

Konami named Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, Neverdead and Silent Hill Downpour as notable upcoming releases. Sports games came up for special attention, with Konami confirming the Pro Evolution Soccer series has passed 70 million units worldwide and noting steady sales of Professional Baseball Spirits 2011, but the company also devoted a large segment of discussion of “steady” increase in social game sales.

Gree title Dragon Collection was highlighted, having stayed at the top of the mobile platform’s charts for 37 weeks since launch. The game has since been pushed to smartphone with competitive and co-operative multiplayer, and save file transfers. Another social title, Sengoku Collection, now has over 1.5 million members on Mobage.

Multiplatform
The financial briefing made mention of the imminent Wii U and Vita launches as part of a growing trend of device diversifiation.

“The types and numbers of devices on which games can be played are on the increase, as the popularity of smartphones and tablet PCs continues to accelerate around the world,” it noted.

“Amidst such a backdrop, our belief is that we can increase the number of outlets for Konami game content through the appearance of new devices by developing our business around the content. We will propose ways of playing games that match the characteristics of each device.”